


Another Mutant at Midtown

by Lebaas



Category: Avengers (Comics), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Adorable Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), BAMF Peter Parker, Cute Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), F/M, Good Friend Ned Leeds, Good Peter, Hurt Tony, Hurt Tony Stark, Identity Reveal, Kid Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark Friendship (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Morgan Stark are Siblings (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Precious Peter Parker, Protective Ned Leeds, Protective Peter Parker, Reveal, Spider-Man Identity Reveal, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, tony survives the snap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26570254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lebaas/pseuds/Lebaas
Summary: "This time it was Peter’s turn to gawk. Sure, this was New York, and the amount of mutants within the city had been growing exponentially, but he never thought he would encounter another one. At least, not in his civilian identity."OrWhen Flash's little sister get's powers, Peter decides to take her under his wing. But what happens when she gets a little too curious about the unlimited resources and reflexes of her newfound friend? Is Peter Parker really the nerdy high schooler he claims to be?
Relationships: Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds/Original Female Character(s), Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 122





	1. Lydia Thompson

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! 
> 
> Little insight into me, I'm overworking myself in college this year and had previously decided to put my fanfic writing on pause. Yet, here we are, three chapters of writing later and a concept so big I am making a new story.... oops! I will be posting a new chapter once a week for as long as I can. But, if you are yearning for more sooner, check out more Spiderman reveal stories through my other works. So yeah, hope you all enjoy!

When Peter first met Lydia Thompson, he was naked. Ok, maybe he still had his boxers on, but that didn’t change the fact that he was mostly unclothed and Flash’s beautiful younger sister was staring at him.

He should have been safe in his apartment. May knew about his secret identity now, so he didn’t have to worry about hiding his newfound muscles. After a long night of patrol, he could often be found changing out of his suit on the way to the fridge--leaving the multimillion dollar piece of equipment trailing in the wake of his trudging feet. 

It was a habit now--to dehero, grab a quick meal from the fridge, and blearily eat it as he flopped onto his bed for sleep. He had never thought twice about the crumbs that would fall onto his bare chest, or the fact that the kitchen light would shine on his sweaty body and make it glow in the dark apartment. All he would normally think of was that he was tired after a night of crime fighting and that he wanted sleep. 

“Peter!” squeaked Ned as he stood up from his place on the couch, desperately trying to ease the tension between the gawking Lydia and Peter, “You remember Lydia--from robotics?” 

“Lydia,” Peter awkwardly chuckled as he swallowed the food that he had crammed into his cheeks and reached behind him for Mr. Stark’s MIT sweatshirt. A shirt that Peter had cleaned and left by the door to return, but would now have to be rewashed. “What are you guys doing here?” 

“We came over for some help,” Ned responded in a sort of rambling apology. “Help you don’t have to give if you don’t want to because I know that you’re busy. But, like, you’re the only one I knew to turn to, and May didn’t mind us being here so long as our parents knew we’d be out late. And you know how my parents are always chill with me spending the night with you. Lydia had to--” 

“It’s 1am?” Peter questioned, interrupting his friend and trying desperately to compose himself.

“It’s my fault,” Lydia interjected before Ned could defend himself, “I had some, some trouble during class today and Ned said you would be the person to go to. I didn’t mean to startle you, Ned said you wouldn’t have minded.” 

“What trouble?” 

“It’s just--” Lydia continued as she glanced away, her cheeks aflame once more, “--just some trouble. I can handle it, but Ned said that it would be easier to ask for your help. I don’t know why. I should’ve just gone home or--” 

“Lydia,” Peter cut in as he moved to block her way to the door, “What trouble?” 

“Dude, she’s got powers and doesn’t know how to control them.” 

This time it was Peter’s turn to gawk. Sure, this was New York, and the amount of mutants within the city had been growing exponentially, but he never thought he would encounter another one. At least, not in his civilian identity. 

“My brother often chases Spiderman,” Lydia said, still refusing to make eye contact with Peter or Ned. “He has this vlog that narrates Spiderman’s heroics and counters the ‘evidence’ in The Bugel. He’s super passionate about it and a while ago he started taking me with him. Maybe so we could bond, but I just think he wanted a second camera angle. Well, I got too close to one of the fights last week and I may have gotten hit by one of Hydro-man’s blasts, so, well, here I am.” 

With that last statement she splayed her hands out in front of her in a sort of ‘tada’ gesture, one that was so at odds with her crouched over and timid body language. Squashing down the urge to laugh, Peter tried to focus on the matter at hand. 

“But that doesn’t make sense. Hydro-man just turns into water. Other people have been splashed before and they came out fine. Why you?” 

“Are other people related to him?” 

“What? How, why, I mean- what?” 

“Morris Bench is my cousin. I spent quite a bit of time last summer on the Cargo Ship with him and was, therefore, exposed to a lot of the same chemicals and even the same experimental generator. He told me that the excess pools were safe to swim in but, apparently, they were not.” 

“I see. What do you want me to do?” 

“Well, today I accidentally exploded an aquarium during class. So I was hoping maybe just to learn to control it. Maybe. Ned just said you can help so I don’t really know what to do.” 

At the mention of his name Ned finally spoke up. “I know that you tend to go on long walks to explore the city. So I was just hoping that maybe your genius mind knew of a good spot that we could experiment and test her limits and stuff.” 

Peter pondered. Sure, there were a fair share of abandoned buildings in New York. But all of them either had homeless residents or security cameras. The only exceptions Peter knew of could only be accessed from above, so they wouldn’t be able to enter without drawing Lydia’s suspicion. There was only one safe place that he could think of, and even though he knew that having access to said place would cause questions, he couldn’t help but want to share it. It was a place of limitless possibilities and a place where they could accurately test all limits of Lydia’s powers. 

“Let me get dressed,” Peter suddenly announced, all traces of fatigue vanishing from his voice. He was excited to have the opportunity to examine another mutant, “I’ll be out in just a sec.” 

\-------------------

20 minutes of small talk later, the trio stood in front of the Avengers Tower entrance. Peter was so used to entering via the underground parking garage that he couldn’t deny being a bit flabbergasted himself. The electric lights of the tower glowed bright in the surrounding darkness, and its staff still seemed to bustle to and fro, paying no attention to the late hour. 

“Peter, why are we at Stark Tower?” asked Lydia, as if she had suddenly realized where they had all stopped and refused to believe it. 

“I work here,” Peter responded casually. “I have access to some of the best power testing facilities in the world, it would be a pity not to put them to good use.” 

“Peter, what if the world finds out who I am? If I get tested here, they will for sure see the results and question who I am.” 

“They won’t, I promise.” 

“You also promised you’d help tweak my drone the day before you dropped robotics. And how did that turn out?” 

“You aced the project.” 

“No thanks to you.” 

“You were in middle school at the time. Even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t just switch schools and go back to help you. It was orientation!” 

“I was a middle school prodigy who figured out early on that high schoolers are unreliable.” 

“Well, I’m not unreliable now. I’m three years your senior, you know, I’ve grown quite a bit since then.” 

“Why should I trust you?” 

“Because I could have already blabbed by now and I didn’t.” 

“You’ve known for less than an hour.” 

“Then because of my loveable personality?” 

“I hardly know you.” 

At this Ned interjected once more. He was the one who had formed a connection with the young Thompson girl. He had seen her work in middle school and had, in fact, returned to help her on the project. He had been her high school mentor via the robotics extra credit outreach program and, even though the two had a strictly school related mentorship, Ned had her trust. 

“You should trust him because Peter is a good person and I trust him. He’s been there through a lot and, actually, is really good at keeping secrets.” 

Lydia paused at that and looked between the two boys. What she saw there was surprising, it was a type of bond that few people were known to share. A bond that allows silent communication and inside jokes. One that shows how either member would give their lives for the other in an instant. And it was that bond, more than anything else, that showed how Peter Parker was respectable enough to be trusted. 

“Alright” she surrendered before taking a deep breath and opening the doors and walking into Stark Industries.


	2. The Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to test Lydia's powers

Ned had never been inside the Stark Tower before. It was Peter’s separate life that he could glance into on occasion, and that had been enough. He’d always squealed when his friend met another hero, or tinkered on some mind blowing machinery. Ned had always been content to sit on the sidelines, to be the man in the chair to his best friend. 

So, as the trio strode through the doors of Stark Industry, Ned couldn’t help but ogle the world that his friend lived in every day. To Ned, every camera and tech was a joy, a world he was finally getting to see in person and not through the lens of Peter’s stories. Ned could safely say that he was freaking out! But, when he turned to share this elation with his best friend, he was met face to face with a stranger in his friend’s body.

Maybe not a stranger per se. Maybe Ned was being too dramatic. It was still Peter for sure, and when his friend turned to point out the security scanning robot that had drawn Ned’s attention earlier, he used the same gestures and expressions. This man even had the same corny laugh as his best friend. 

However, when Ned looked at his friend, he no longer saw the crouched shoulders of the midtown high geek, or even the cocky laugh of the city's hero. Instead, Ned got his first glimpse into Peter Parker, the personal intern of Tony Stark. The confidence his friend was displaying nearly made him pause in his steps. How had his friend developed a side of him that he had never seen before? He had so much to catch up on! 

It was this thought alone that kept Ned silent as the trio walked up to security, and that thought alone that made him smile instead of freak out when they walked towards the 6’7 mountain of a security guard. 

“I’m here to use the labs on floor 87,” Peter remarked to the security as he placed his bags on the conveyor belt and gestured for his friends to do the same. 

“Those labs are for Level One personnel only,” questioned the night shift security guard as he shifted upward in his seat to reassess the three teens. 

“I’m good for it. I’m also clearing the two behind me.” 

“FRIDAY?” asked the guard as she scanned the boy in front of her as well as the remaining, petrified teens.

“Access granted. Peter Parker. Level One. Welcome back, Peter. Would you like me to inform the boss of your arrival?” 

“No, you’re good. Thanks, FRI.” 

The security guard looked shocked. He checked back and forth between his screen--that no doubt held all the information about Peter’s employment at Stark Industries--and the boy standing in front of him. The guard didn’t prod the boy genius any further. Maybe he assumed Peter’s access regarded confidential information? Regardless, Peter breathed a sigh of relief when the guard finally nodded and gestured for the three of them to pass. No doubt this would be the story of the hour and, while Peter knew he had nothing to hide, he also wasn’t sure how he felt about all the glances he was getting. 

As the three picked up their thoroughly scanned bags they strode towards the elevator and FRIDAY opened automatically, as if she had been waiting for Peter this whole time. 

The three entered without a moment's hesitation and, as the doors closed behind them, Lydia even waved at the befuddled security guard. 

As soon as the doors closed though, her gaze went from bubbly to predatory. A gaze that reminded Peter of MJ when he’d truly messed up on his boyfriend duties. 

“What was that about?” She grilled, taking a step towards him. 

“What was what about?” He deflected. 

“That scene? I thought we were supposed to fly under the radar. And how in the world does a teen like you gain access to some of the highest floors at Stark Tower?” 

“Sorry. I just thought that these labs would be the best place to test because they’re--you know--built to help superheroes train?” 

“Yeah, but how do you know that? Like, I’m happy you’re helping me! Please don’t feel that I’m ungrateful. You just have to understand that I’ve been through a lot in the past couple weeks. Plus, seeing how people have been treating my cousin has kind of been freaking me out about my own powers. How’s the world gonna react to two of us?” 

“Hang on. Your cousin has been wreaking havoc on the city! He even tried to kill Spiderman the other day!” 

“And what does that say about my powers? Are they going to turn me into a monster?” 

At this Ned finally spoke up from his space in the corner. He had been content to simply watch the interaction, but he was not comfortable with people talking about turning themselves into monsters. Especially when those people had powers, “Look Lydia, I’ve read enough comic books to know that the hero always struggles with their morality at some point throughout the story. And that’s ok, it means you’re still human. But don’t ever forget that your powers are just one part of you, they don’t define you and they don’t control you.” 

As Ned finished his speech Lydia gave an almost audible sigh of relief and the doors to the elevator finally opened. Peter knew for a fact that the elevator ride was near instantaneous, so he was grateful that the AI had realized the tense situation and paused to open the doors till appropriate. 

When the elevator doors opened to the hero’s training room, Peter couldn’t help but smile. He remembered the hours he had spent lifting weights in the corner station during exam week, and he remembered running on that treadmill for hours while listening to textbook audio recordings. This was where he’d been flabbergasted to meet so many Avengers, and where he had matured from an awe filled high school boy to a dedicated and mature senior. 

When he glanced over at his friends though, it was clear that they did not feel the same sense of nostalgia at the olympic sized training room. Instead of seeing a stress relieving weight machine, all they saw were the impossibly heavy weights. Instead of seeing the relaxing treadmill, they saw all the extra machinery and vamps underneath it that allowed one to go at near immeasurable speeds. They saw each piece of machinery as something to obsess over and, as Peter smiled and took a step into the room, neither seemed to notice in their revelry. 

“So, Lydia,” prodded Peter as he continued to amble into the room, “What machine would you like to start on? There’s the obvious strength and speed, but there’s also a simulation room to help with reflexes and senses and stuff.” 

“Is there a pool?” she asked hesitantly. 

“Sure is, follow me.” 

As Peter’s friends took their first step into the world of the Stark prodigy, he realized how much he enjoyed having them there. He enjoyed sharing this part of himself, a part that for so long had to stay hidden. Even Ned, his best friend, had never been here. 

“If you’ll look to your left,” Peter started, embracing his inner tour guide, “you’ll see the weight machines so often used by Captain America. He has yet to max them out, but got up to 787 tons the other day. They’re all at the avengers compound currently, so they won’t be bothering us at all! They’re starting to train the newest batch of avengers so, you know, we’re free to roam as we please. The record for the treadmill was set by Spiderman, who can sprint up to 230 miles an hour. He’s pretty awesome! To your right is the door to our simulations and to your left is the pool.” 

Sure enough, the room opened to a previously unseen section of the room and the two gaping teens paused, yet again, to wonder at the sheer expanse of the place. 

“It’s huge!” Lydia exclaimed.

“Holy cow dude, no wonder you come here every day!” Ned blurted out, beaming. 

“You come here every day?” 

“I have an internship here,” Peter recovered quickly. “I don’t come to this room every day but, yeah, I’ve visited a lot. Except I’m not really supposed to talk about it, so keep it on the DL please.” 

“Yeah, of course! It’s no wonder Ned came to you. You’ve got connections, Peter Parker.”

This comment was followed by a light punch to the side before Lydia giggled and ran straight off the edge of the pool and into the watery depths below. It was so unexpected that Peter was almost nervous. Had it not been for the powers he knew she possessed, he would have even jumped in after her. 

Ned, on the other hand, had no such qualms. By the time Lydia’s laughing head emerged from the water Ned had already shredded his jacket and shoes and was running to the water. Peter couldn’t help but laugh at his friend's eagerness and was going to tease him about that later. For now though, he just enjoyed seeing the glint of joy in his friend’s eyes. 

“Come on Parker!” yelled Lydia as he stood there watching, “You too chicken to join us?” 

“No,” Peter chuckled as he took his phone out of his pocket, “I’m just the only guy who remembers why we’re here. We had a plan, remember?” 

At this, he starts the record button on his camera and begins narrating, “This is Day 1, Thursday the--”

“It’s Friday, you dolt!” interjected Lydia from her spot in the pool. She’d swum closer to the edge and reached onto it while looking into the camera. “It’s, like, 2am now. So, it’s not Thursday anymore.” 

“Right, Friday the--the 15th?” 

“18th,” This time it was Ned that jumped in. He shared a conspiratory look with his newfound female friend. A look that indicated, ‘see what I have to put up with?’ Peter might have even been a little annoyed had it not been for the fact that his mind was already half in science mode. 

“Nuance,” he quipped and switched the topic back to the matter at hand, “Here we are with Lydia Thompson who is here to test the limits of her new powers. These videos are for documenting our evidence and seeing if there is a general pattern and/or growth within her super powers over time. Today, we’ll be testing the water element of your powers. Hence, the pool.” 

“You sound so official,” she joked. 

“I am official. Now water-up.” 

“That’s not my catch phrase.” 

“Just go.” 

With a sigh, Lydia turned towards the middle of the pool and Peter quickly walked around the pool's edge to get a better shot of the spectacle. Lydia’s eyes closed and her face became a mask of concentration. Her hands lifted and, if Peter looked close enough, he could see they were twitching with anticipation. She took a long breath, the kind that makes one’s entire body rise and fall along with it. Then, as her eyes opened back up again, the water began to move! 

It sprang from the water in a tiny worm, before falling not 4 seconds later with an echoing splash. 

Though, as Ned turned to face the girl that stood a breaths width away from them, he gushed. He paid no heed to the anticlimactic pettiness of the worm and he didn’t mind the fact that she lost it within a few seconds. Instead, his exhubilent face was showing open awe and he screamed, “Holy cow, you did it!” 

Lydia blushed at Ned’s comment and took a step back. “It was pretty small.” 

“Who cares? You moved water with your mind! That’s so cool!” 

“It’s pretty cool, Lydia,” Peter agreed as he made his way to where the two friends stood, his phone put away in his pocket. 

“Thanks,” she mumbled as she turned all her attention to the teen standing above her, “what next?” 

“I suppose that’s up to you. We only have a few hours before the janitorial staff comes in. I recommend going through and testing you on each machine tonight, which means only testing each machine once. But in future we can come back and start testing and honing your powers step by step, like a leveling system. Or we could slowly train you on everything all at once. But, we’ll come to that when we get to it, for now we need to get working and--” 

As Peter slowed his rant he looked towards a stunned Lydia Thomson.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, “Did you want to do it differently? If you don’t want to try all the machines tonight I guess you don’t have to but--” 

“--You’re allowing me to come back?” she interrupted in awe. 

“Of course!” Peter responded flabbergasted, “You don’t really have anywhere else to train and I offered the space to you as we were walking in here, so yeah.” 

“I just, I thought you only meant for tonight. As, you know, a test.” 

This time, it was Ned who stepped in. He had pushed himself up to sit on the pool's edge and the echoing drips of his clothes seemed to echo in the relative silence of the vast room. “Why would we test you?” 

“I don’t know? Why would you help me?” 

“Because you needed help,” Ned answered bluntly, not seeing another answer. 

“Well, I guess you would help, Ned, but why you, Peter? I mean, my brother’s been a bit of a jerk to you for years. My cousin has tried to destroy the city! You don’t owe my family any favors. And yet, you’re pulling some serious strings to help me out.” 

Peter just smiled. “Of course I’ll help you out. I’d want someone to do the same for me. It’s just the right thing to do.” He smiled and reached a hand to his new friend who was still submerged in the water. “Now come on, we’ve got some more testing to do.” 

\------------------------

They did a total of 48 different superhero tests. Turned out Lydia did not have super strength, speed, or senses. She could not shoot lasers from her eyes (though the two boys thoroughly enjoyed watching her try), and she could not fly. Her reflexes were about the same as a regular human’s and, even though she attempted, she could not turn herself into water. 

That last one had been a bit of a shock, her cousin could turn himself into water on the regular. He’d become a tsunami and had even been seen morphing himself into steam! Lydia tried her hardest, she really did, but she just didn’t understand how her relative could change himself that way. 

Ned hypothesized that it had something to do with her emotions. After all, her powers were only discovered after she became anxious enough to explode a fish tank, a feeling she did not seem too keen to clarify or duplicate.

“Whelp,” Peter said as he flopped onto a nearby couch, “I’m pooped. But I need to go grab my backpack from home and I still need to take a shower.” 

“Same dude,” whined Ned as he fell on the couch alongside his best friend. They lay alongside each other and, though both knew they didn’t have time, they felt their eyes start to close as they drifted to sleep. 

\------------------------

Alarm bells started ringing in Peter’s head. He had to move and he had to move now or something deadly was going to happen. 

Peter bolted up from the couch and ducked under Lydia’s arm as she walked towards her friends. 

Splash. 

Ned was awoken to a cup being poured over his head and a chuckling girl beside him. 

“You’re lucky you heard me coming, Peter!” Lydia exclaimed as she bent over in laughter. “This water could’ve been aimed at your face as well!” 

Peter chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He was glad his senses had been incorrect about the deadliness of the threat, but still nervous due to Lydia possibly seeing his superhuman reflexes. 

“You’re so mean!” Ned gasped in fake astonishment. 

“What can I say, I’m Hydro-girl. Besides, we have to get ready for school or people are going to be concerned.” 

“Right,” Ned mumbled as he ambled towards the corner where they had discarded their backpacks earlier that night.

“You coming, Peter?” Lydia asked as she calmed her laughter down and started following after a newly soaked Ned. 

“Nah, I’m going to take a shower here before I head home. They have a much nicer facility and I like the smell of their shampoo.”

Lydia’s chuckles resumed and Ned simply looked over to give him a knowing glance. Peter liked the smell of the shampoo since it was his own shampoo, Peter had brought his caddy over years ago when he realized he could actually work up a sweat. Ned also knew that Peter kept spare clothes here on the odd occasion that he had to spend the night in the Med Bay, or simply fell asleep working in the labs with Tony. 

“Alrighty then dude, have fun!” he exclaimed with a wave as he entered the elevator with Lydia following closely behind. 

Peter waved back before the doors closed and he turned to do exactly as he claimed. A shower had been necessary for a few days now, and if Peter put it off any longer, he wasn’t sure Midtown High would accept his hobo-smelling self.


	3. Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is alive!

Tony woke to the smell of bacon and pancakes, a smell that hadn’t existed outside of a restaurant since his childhood. He leaned over to exclaim his astonishment to Pepper, only to find her side of the bed empty. Sure, he was used to her waking up at obscene hours to work, but he never pegged her as the all-you-can-eat-breakfast kind of girl. She was the fruit-on granola-and-eat-it-with-a-tiny-spoon type girl. She was the type of girl that he stole the spoon from and riled up and kissed until his mouth tasted like her yoghurt and--yeah, he needed to figure out who was down there and what they had done with his Pepper. 

“Honey?” he called down the hall as he struggled to untangle and throw on yesterday’s shirt.

“Tony!” he heard her exclaim in a much too enthusiastic tone for this ungodly hour. “Grab some powdered sugar from the closet across the hall, would you? It seems we’ve run out in the kitchen and I made sure to buy extra after last week.” 

Powdered sugar? Pepper detested the stuff. Peter was the only one who ate it and, as it was a school night, Peter shouldn’t be over at all. He and May had an agreement that Peter would never be over this late on school nights, unless an emergency arose. Did an emergency arise? Was his spiderling in the hospital wing right now with a broken body wondering why Tony hadn’t saved him? Was his kid in mortal peril? Was Peter injured, maimed or dead thinking Tony didn’t care about him? Maybe that’s why Pepper was making breakfast. Maybe it was an apology meal to make up for Tony’s mistakes. God knew he made enough of them. 

By the time Tony finally entered the kitchen to a humming Pepper Potts, his hands were shaking. 

“Tony?” Pepper questioned as she turned to see his ashen face, “Tony, what’s wrong?” 

Not missing a beat, Pepper turned off the stove and walked towards her husband's mutilated form. Why was he like this? He had been a broken mess ever since the final battle against Thanos. He had survived snapping the infinity gauntlet, but he had been left battered and bruised and on the brink of death. He had been deemed the hero of the world, but had soon been abandoned as the press realised he would spend the next year in a hospital, and the following two in therapy. 

“Is Peter dead?” Tony asked as Pepper embraced him. 

“What? No! He’s not dead, I’m so sorry. No. He just spent the night on floor 87 so I figured he’d be hungry this morning. Plus, I wanted to subtly question him about his friends and the late hour.” 

“Oh,” Tony responded as his body slowly stopped trembling. His burned half trembled for just a millisecond longer than his unchanged half. A decent improvement seeing as how his fried nerves used to respond several seconds later than the rest of his body, but an unsettling truth nonetheless. 

“Peter’s fine, Tony, don’t worry! In fact, I was about to go down and invite him up if you’d like to go with me? FRIDAY just informed me that his friends left and he was using the showers. We should go down and catch him before he leaves for school anyways. I don’t know if he remembers he has extra clothes here.” 

“School, Peter, yeah.” Tony responded as he slowly stood up--he couldn’t even remember sitting down--and walked towards the door followed closely by Pepper. 

On the way out, though, he snatched his glasses from the counter, his mask to the world. No one seemed to realize that these glasses were more of a mask to him than his iron man suit ever was. These glasses allowed him to hide behind a persona of confidence and cool. A mask that everything was alright and he was a hero. 

\----------------------

“Mr. Stark!” Peter gleefully exclaimed as he exited the changing rooms in a surprisingly familiar MIT sweatshirt. 

“Hey, kid,” the adult responded easily as he slung his arm over the high school prodigy’s shoulder. 

“I didn’t think you would be up so early?” The kid questioned with a grin on his face. 

“I wouldn’t have been. But Pepper made a huge breakfast and I swear her cooking could raise the dead.” 

“Really?” 

“Really,” spoke the voice of Pepper Potts as she clicked her way towards the pair. “There’s more than enough for all three of us and we came to invite you up.” 

“Oh, it’s not necessary Pepper, I actually--” 

“Peter,” interjected Pepper in a concerned voice that sounded just like his Aunt May, “you can’t skip out on a meal with your metabolism. Plus, I doubt you even thought to pack lunch last night so you’ll need that as well.” 

“Better listen to the lady,” Tony whispered conspiratorially to Peter, “she can get pretty scary.” 

Peter laughed as he walked towards his backpack in the corner. “Don’t have to tell me twice.” 

Pepper turned to smile at Tony as she walked towards her husband. “He’s so much more behaved than you ever were.” 

“Hey, I take offense to that.” 

“At least he picks up his things.” 

“I pick up my things on occasion.” 

“And he showers.” 

“You can’t accuse me of not showering, Mrs. Potts. Wasn’t it just yesterday that we--” 

The bantering continued like that until they reached the elevator. Peter joined in once he was within earshot and the three interacted like any family would in such situations. It appeared so peaceful that Tony almost smiled. And if Pepper’s arm was wrapped around him for structural support as opposed to emotional, he didn’t say anything. And if Peter’s arm was still scarred from the fight against Thanos two years ago, he didn’t say anything either. He was content to live in this illusion of normalcy for as long as he could. 

\----------------------

“Peter!” exclaimed a giddy voice as the trio stepped out of the elevator and into the Stark family home. 

“Morgan!” beamed Peter as he sprinted towards the giggling figure. He reached his arms out and picked up the young Stark, twirling her in circles before setting her down on the floor. “I missed you so much!” 

“FRIDAY, weren't you supposed to inform me when Morgan woke up?” Tony accused as he sauntered over to the table. 

“Miss Stark has arisen,” FRIDAY announced in her deceptively neutral tone. 

“Maybe I should take you in for a check-up. You seem to be lax on a lot of things lately.” 

“My standards are up to your latest codes. Miss Stark simply informed me that telling you would be unnecessary as you would be home soon. I believe her original plan was to startle you by jumping out from behind your sofa.” 

“And since when do you take orders from a seven-year old?” 

“You were the one that allowed her more admin privileges.” 

“I just meant to give her more TV time, not--” 

Tony was cut off by the sound of laughter from across the room; he couldn’t be upset when those two were around. Peter had donned his true alterego--the tickle monster--and was now chasing Morgan all around the room. Morgan was giggling so loud he was sure people in the office 10 floors below could hear it. The sound echoed in Tony’s bad ear, but he wouldn’t change it for the world. 

“Alright you two,” Pepper declared, coming out from the kitchen with another overflowing plate of pancakes, “breakfast will only stay hot for so long, and Peter needs to leave for school in 20 minutes.”

“My bag is still at home though?” Peter inquired as he stopped his chase and headed towards his seat at the table. 

“I called May once I realized you were here. She’s already brought your bag to school. Now eat.”

Peter didn’t need to be told twice. He dug into the food like his life depended on it. Peter took a mountain of pancakes onto his plate and picked them up to start eating like tacos. The powdered sugar lining the inside acting as his toppings. Tony had always teased the boy about this, but ever since Morgan had adopted this way of eating pancakes too, the teasing had let up. Tony was now outnumbered in the pancake department and no matter how much he begged Pepper to take his side, the woman remained stubbornly unbiased. She refused to stray from her parfait and granola. 

“I’m so glad you’re here today, Peter,” Morgan said as she scooted her chair closer to his and laid a head on his shoulder.

“Why are you here today Peter?” Pepper asked in a tone that appeared neutral, but Tony knew was probing. It seemed as though some of the cameras had been turned off overnight so neither he nor Pepper really knew the activities of last night. It wasn’t as if they didn’t trust him, they had given him admin privileged after all. If he wanted to turn off the cameras he had every right to. They were simply curious. 

“So, this is kind of confidential and you can’t tell anyone,” Peter said between mouthfuls. 

“Morgan, can you grab some syrup please?” Pepper interjected before Peter could continue. 

“But we never use syrup?” Morgan questioned, rightfully so. 

“I want some for my granola, there is some in the outside pantry down the hall.” 

“But I want to hear the con--con--fi--den--tial stuff.” Morgan’s lisp had improved tenfold over the past few years, but occasionally she still struggled with bigger words and had to be very intentional about their pronunciation. 

“Go grab the syrup for me dear.” 

“Yes, mom,” she grumbled as she stood up and stumbled to the door. 

“Go ahead, Peter” 

“There’s another mutant at Midtown,” Peter whisper-yelled to the two adults. 

“Another mutant! What can she do?” Tony asked with gears turning, already imagining a new suit. Would an elastic base like Peter’s suit be ideal or would he ironize it like his personal suit? The metal would make it bulletproof but the elastic material was much more movable and breathable. He could maybe use the new nano tech but that was mostly experimental and had to be programmed to specific DNA and body types. Maybe if he could find a hair in the--

“She has some sort of water powers, that’s all we know. We were testing last night. She wants to keep it on the DL though, I don’t even think she’d want me to tell you but, well, it’s your space and I was hoping we could maybe use it again tomorrow. Or next week if you have other people who need to use it, I know it’s a really great training facility and--”

“Thank you so much, Morgan,” Pepper announced, calling out a sneaking Morgan who was attempting to slink along the walls in order to eavesdrop. 

“You’re welcome, mama,” she replied in a faux cheerful tone. 

“Peter, you’re welcome over anytime you want,” Tony said with a smile. He would respect the girl’s wishes to stay hidden of course. At least, he assumed it was the girl in the video. If it was Ned they would have bigger problems. “There’s no one using the downstairs room with the new facility down south. Be our guest.”

“Thanks Tony!” Peter exclaimed as he continued to shovel in food, and the breakfast continued per usual: Pepper asking genuine questions, Tony making snarky remarks, and the two children sharing far too many inside jokes and knowing smirks. 20 years ago, Tony would never have expected to enjoy the domestic life so much. Heck, 10 years ago he wouldn’t have understood. But now, he found himself hoping this breakfast would never end. 

It did. 

“Time for school!” Pepper called as she stood from her seat. “For both of you kids.” 

“Do I have to?” asked Morgan. She was far beyond her fourth grade peers and knew it too. Tony kept arguing that Morgan deserved more, a chance for high school or even college education. Pepper had argued for a similar age range in a nicer school to help with socializing. Especially since the family had lived isolated for so long.

Pepper won. 

“Come on, Morgan!” Peter exclaimed as he hopped up from his seat, sugar rejuvenating him so that no one could tell he hadn’t managed to sleep the night before. “School’s fun and you get to hang out with all your friends.” 

“I guess,” Morgan muttered as stood up from her seat. 

Tony smiled as his daughter got up from her seat and walked around the table to give him a hug. He felt the warmth of it all throughout his body--even his burned half. And as Peter waved goodbye with a handful of pancakes, he felt like the love inside him would explode out. He watched his wife take his kids out the door, took another sip of coffee and sighed. Domestic life: it wasn’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving! And a big thanks to @rapiddasher for even being willing to beta during the holidays.


End file.
